


Day Two Hundred Fifty-Eight || Chalice

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [258]
Category: Naruto, Original Work
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 11:15:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20674478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: Parties, politics...there's almost nothing about this night he can enjoy. Almost.





	Day Two Hundred Fifty-Eight || Chalice

“I hate parties…”

Glancing over from his mirror to his brother, Itachi gives Sasuke a perk of a brow. “Sasuke...you’ve never _been_ to a party. At least...not a proper one. Not like this. How can you possibly know you won’t like it if you’ve never attended one?”

“Well, let me think,” Sasuke drawls, hunched in a chair in their chambers. “I have to wear this...ridiculous outfit, for one. All these..._frills_, and the lace...is this really necessary?”

Itachi snorts. “It could be much worse, Sasuke. Just because you’re not used to fine clothing doesn’t make them evil. You’re just...cleaned up and presentable for once in your life,” he can’t help but tease.

“...well, I also saw the crowds. I hate crowds.”

“A bit unavoidable, given the occasion. You can just sulk around the outer edges and avoid most of it.”

“I thought we were going _home_, Itachi.”

...the elder brother stills.

“We trekked for hundreds of miles across this gods-forsaken continent, all to satisfy the lux mage we found to heal you. She got what she wanted. Her lands are no longer frozen in time. She found her precious library, and with it, cured your illness. That’s the _only_ reason we went on this hare-brained excursion in the first place! All of these weeks, all of the pitfalls and close calls! All to get you better! And now that you are, we’re supposed to go _home_. Back to our parents, so they can know you’re alive and well and whole again. And we’ll get back to our lives!”

A heavy sigh slips from Itachi’s lungs, which no longer rattle or wheeze. “...and what lives were they, my brother?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What were we _doing_ with our lives? You’d taken up swordbearer contracts, killing men or beasts for coin to find me a healer. I was struggling to live any semblance of a normal life with sickness eating me from within. If we go back...what will be left to us?”

Sasuke flounders for a response.

“...I have been ill since before becoming a man. I’ve known no profession. I have my training in ven, and in books, and swordsmanship...archery...but our people still live in fear and worry. But what the lux mage wants to do - to rebuild the Council of Elements - would give us a fighting chance at finally regaining the balance lost during the Rift. El’ven people could have normal lives, no longer living in hiding! But…” Itachi turns to face his brother fully. “She cannot do it alone.”

They stare at one another, and understanding blooms. “...you’re going to stay.”

“She has asked me to.”

“You’ve not yet agreed?”

“I am thinking it over. Because, as you said...I thought I would return home. These weeks...they have taught me much. But I _do_ ache for home. Yet at the same time, I feel a kind of...responsibility here. I know Father has told you of how our ancestor sat here, in this very castle, as Ignitrios’ last representative before the Rift. Is it not fitting, then, that one of us take the mantle as it is rebuilt?”

Sasuke scowls, a deep furrow in his brow. “...are you doing this because you want to? Or because you feel obligated? Because of your bloodline? Because _she_ asked you to?”

“Why can it not be all of those things together? Sasuke...our world is changing. It _needs_ to change. And this gala is to be a first step into that changed future we all desire. A world without fear. Without a cold war leftover from the ashes of one that once blazed hot with hate. I knew this would upset you, but...I am tired of living without a purpose. Now that I truly _live_...I wish to forge that life into something useful. One that, I hope...will benefit many others, including our scattered people.”

Temper hot as his element as always, Sasuke gives a soft scoff, abandoning his seat. “...do whatever you want. I don’t care.”

“Sasuke -”

“And here I thought such journeys are meant to bring people together. Now I see that all it’s done is rob me of you.” With that, he abandons their quarters with a slam of the door, stalking down to the belly of the castle in the heart of Luxeria’s lands. As he steps into the main hall, he can hear the music and voices beyond the ballroom doors, softened by the thick wood. Staring at them and fighting with himself, Sasuke - rather than the two most obvious choices, the ballroom or the front entrance - chooses a third.

Down another hall he goes until reaching another doorway...this one leading to the gardens. Orbs of light float freely, illuminating the space he’s taken to hiding away since all of the uproar after their arrival to the capital. Thankfully none of the guests have spilled out here yet seeking cooler, fresher air than the heat of the crowds.

None...but one.

He should have known she’d be out here.

Seated along the rim of a large fountain depicting the Elemental of water, Hinata stares up at a full moon that glows softly over the grounds. In her hands is a crystal goblet, half-empty of its sparkling white wine.

For a time he just watches her, but...she never moves. Never makes a sound. Just...sits and stares. So he gives up his vigil and instead approaches to sit beside her. “Give up on the party already?”

“Mm, no,” is her soft reply. “Just wanted a little air.”

“But it’s scarcely begun, hasn’t it?”

“Mm.”

He knows that tone. “...what’s on your mind?”

“Given I could still feel the embers of your temper when you arrived, likely something similar to what stoked it in the first place.”

“...she asked you to stay as well?”

“To represent Auquiana.”

“...and your answer?”

“I’ve not given one yet.” Finally, Hinata drops her gaze to her chalice, swirling the spirits within. “...until I joined this band...I was forbidden from speaking to my element. I’ve lived in fear and seclusion under my father’s control for nearly the entirety of my life. But now, I’ve seen so much of the world...and yet, in the grand scheme, so little. It’s opened my eyes. I don’t think I can go back. I had nothing. And...I know not what else to do.”

“...would it make you happy?”

“...I don’t know. I would hope so. It would, at least, give me purpose. I’ve never really...had that until now. With our journey at its end...I feel lost. And this...this feels like the next step. To help my people. To reconnect with my element. To try to bring the same balance that was lost here so long ago.”

“...you sound like my brother.”

“I thought I would. I know you just want to go back to how things were, Sasuke...but…” She turns to him, somber wisdom in her gaze. “...I think you know that’s no longer possible. In many respects. You might regret what it’s come to, but...your brother, at least, is alive. The world is dawning into a new, better era. It won’t be easy. We need to put in the work. And...that’s what I, and your brother, and the rest of us want to do. Ever since war broke out those few centuries ago...our people have been scattered and afraid. But now, we can fix that. Or at least begin to. Don’t you want to see what such an era will be like…?”

The younger Uchiha sighs. “...I don’t know. I feel like this is a fool’s errand. Just like the whole of our travels.”

“It may end that way, but...the only way to know is to see it to the end. And I think...I’ll do that. Itachi may as well. And I hope you’ll join us.”

He doesn’t reply.

“...but, for now, we can’t solve the world’s problems tonight,” Hinata sighs, taking to her feet. “So, we might as well enjoy it for what it is, shouldn’t we? Eat, drink, be merry?”

“...I don’t know about ‘be merry’...but the rest I can try,” Sasuke relents, making to follow. “I’ll get angry over politics in the morning atop my headache from that fancy wine.”

Hinata fails to fight a smile. “Fair enough.”

**Author's Note:**

> Still a day behind, oof...today was another doozy. Maybe tomorrow I'll catch up :'D
> 
> Anywho, some more of my original Divine Light verse. After all the shenanigans of getting his brother healed, Sasuke just wants to go home. But nooo, suddenly everyone wants to play politics and be responsible adults attempting to amend the bloody pasts of their peoples and try to bring peace.
> 
> Give this poor man a break xD
> 
> Anyway, it's late, I'm pooped, and I'ma go sleep lol - thanks for reading!


End file.
